Democratic Party: "Yoon, Are You Saying We Are Anti-State Forces... You've Crossed the Line Far Beyond"

Park Kwang-on "First time to label previous government policies as anti-state forces"
Woo Sang-ho "Even Trump, who pushed for the end-of-war declaration, labeled as anti-state forces"
Ha Tae-kyung "Anti-state forces and anti-state organizations are different... Presidential Office should actively explain"

The Democratic Party strongly opposed President Yoon Seok-yeol's criticism of the previous administration's push for a declaration to formally end the Korean War, labeling it as 'anti-state forces.' They argued that the president's remarks effectively define the Moon Jae-in government as anti-state forces, crossing a line that should not be crossed.

Park Kwang-on, the Democratic Party floor leader, said at the party's policy coordination meeting, "I earnestly want to say a word to President Yoon," adding, "Yesterday, President Yoon defined the previous Democratic Party government, which pursued a declaration to establish a permanent peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, as anti-state forces."

Earlier, at the founding anniversary event of the Federation of Korean Associations, President Yoon stated, "Distorted historical consciousness and irresponsible national views held by anti-state forces pleaded for the lifting of UN Security Council sanctions against the North Korean communist group, which is advancing its nuclear armament, and sang the praises of a declaration to end the war that would dismantle the UN Command. It was a chorus of a declaration to end the war aimed at preventing the automatic activation of the UN Command and its forces if North Korea invades again."

Regarding this, Floor Leader Park said, "The public was shocked by these remarks," and added, "While policies on the Korean Peninsula have changed depending on the administration, this is the first time a president has labeled the previous government's policies as anti-state forces." He described the expression as "extreme and difficult for the public to accept," and explained, "The Moon Jae-in administration's Korean Peninsula policy inherited the spirit of the Park Chung-hee administration's July 4th North-South Joint Declaration, the Roh Tae-woo administration's Basic Agreement on North-South Relations, Kim Dae-jung's peace policy on the Korean Peninsula, and the Roh Moo-hyun administration's October 4th North-South Joint Declaration. No citizen is unaware that these were earnest and desperate efforts to pass on a future of peace and prosperity to the next generation based on a peace regime and peace economy on the Korean Peninsula."

Park emphasized, "One of the core values required for the governance of the Republic of Korea's president is national unity," and expressed serious concern that "the president's remarks yesterday might be a complete denial of the spirit of national unity." He criticized, "Labeling the previous administration as anti-state forces by questioning Korean Peninsula policies that were pursued through constitutional and democratic procedures with the consent of the people is in direct contradiction to the spirit of national unity."

Kim Sung-joo, the Democratic Party's senior deputy floor leader for policy, criticized at an even higher level. Kim said, "The Republic of Korea must not become an extreme society nor descend into hatred and madness," and added, "I believe President Yoon's speech yesterday opened that door." He condemned, "With the chilling speech yesterday, the Democratic Party has now become an anti-state organization. Former President Moon Jae-in has become a spy, and citizens supporting the Democratic Party have become people seeking money and success." He continued, "It was a provocative speech inciting hatred, opening the door to a society of madness," and pointed out, "The more serious issue is that the stigma of 'either you are with us or you are the enemy' is being carried out in the name of freedom."

President Yoon Suk-yeol is delivering a congratulatory speech at the 69th anniversary ceremony of the Korea Freedom Federation held at Jangchung Gymnasium in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 28th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Jeong Seong-ho, a Democratic Party lawmaker, appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and said regarding President Yoon's remarks, "They are very inappropriate and words that should never be said," adding, "If you call someone anti-state forces, wouldn't that be an anti-state organization under the National Security Act?" He criticized, "These are words the president should not say, and then what does it mean for the current president who appointed the previous president as the head of the Central District Prosecutors' Office and Prosecutor General? The line has been crossed many times over."

Woo Sang-ho, a Democratic Party lawmaker, said on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "President Yoon tried to criticize the Moon Jae-in government but ended up labeling it as anti-state forces, similar to labeling the Trump administration as anti-state forces," and added, "While North Korea's nuclear armament and provocations must be firmly responded to, denying even the basic institutional framework to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula is going too far."

Meanwhile, Ha Tae-kyung, a People Power Party lawmaker, said on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "Some of our hardline right-wingers said anti-state forces meant spies, which can be interpreted legally, but that is not the case," and added, "What the presidential office wants to emphasize is that concerns about security and between nations are understandable, but it is necessary to clearly show that anti-state forces are differentiated from anti-state organizations under the National Security Act." Ha also requested, "I hope the president clarifies that the strong term 'anti-state forces' he used reflects concerns about national security and does not mean viewing the previous government as spy forces." The expression 'anti-state forces' used by President Yoon and 'anti-state organizations' under the National Security Act should be understood as having different meanings, and the presidential office should actively explain this.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.